The World Bank (WB) Wednesday officially confirmed that an external panel comprising three eminent international experts to oversee probe into Padma Bridge graft allegation will arrive in Dhaka on October 14.

The external panel, headed by Luis Moreno Ocampo, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will work closely with local graft watchdog, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), WB said.

The panel was formed on October 5 in line with the measures agreed by the government during the WB’s $1.2 billion loan revival discussion held at Washington.

The multilateral lender pulled out of the project on June 29, alleging a “corruption conspiracy” surrounding the project, for which, it claimed, had “credible evidence.”

Other members of the project are: Timothy Tong, former commissioner of the Independent Commission against Corruption of Hong Kong and Richard Alderman, former director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.

Dhaka office of the global lender said this would be an initial introductory visit, and the first in a series of regular visits aimed at assessing adequacy of the investigation into alleged corruption under the Padma Bridge project.

The panel will submit reports to the WB and also share its findings with the government of Bangladesh and other co-financiers of the project, the WB release said.

Earlier, visit of a WB delegation, scheduled on October 1, was postponed without showing any specific reason.

Later, government high-ups said they were informed by the lender that the meeting was deferred as the WB could not form the panel till then. In its board meeting on September 20, the World Bank Group formally decided to engage anew with the project subject to satisfactory implementation of agreed measures.

Apart from the formation of the panel of graft experts, the agreed measures also include creating a separate procurement arrangements for the $2.9 billion mega infrastructure project.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/11th-Oct-12